Two-wheel 'truckers' get goods to market

Thursday

May 2, 2013 at 12:01 AMMay 2, 2013 at 6:37 AM

A year ago, wine distributor Trevor Williams was confined to a truck hauling cases of zinfandel and merlot throughout central Ohio, a workday that was restrictive and stressful. Today, he's still hauling product, but on two wheels and in fresh air. And he considers it as much work as play. He's one of two delivery riders at Backroom Coffee Roasters, which operates from the rear of a Trek Bicycle Store in Upper Arlington.

Dean Narciso, The Columbus Dispatch

A year ago, wine distributor Trevor Williams was confined to a truck hauling cases of zinfandel and merlot throughout central Ohio, a workday that was restrictive and stressful.

“You’re constantly driving around I-270 for eight hours a day burning up gas,” he said. By day’s end, “I would just need to go do something to let me think.” Bicycling, he found, was the perfect release.

Today, he’s still hauling product, but on two wheels and in fresh air. And he considers it as much work as play.

He’s one of two delivery riders at Backroom Coffee Roasters, which operates from the rear of a Trek Bicycle Store in Upper Arlington.

Coffee, baked goods and other small products are ideal for bike delivery. The benefits of self-propulsion over internal combustion are obvious, experts say, pointing to high gas prices and crowded streets.

“What it does in high-density metropolitan areas with limited parking for trucks makes sense,” said Gordon Gough, executive vice president for the Ohio Council of Retail Merchants.

Riding a Danish-made long-wheel-base bike fitted with a large cargo box, Williams draws smiles from those he passes in German Village, the Short North, Downtown and Worthington.

“It’s great exercise, and you get some decent thinking done,” said Williams, the father of two young children.

On a typical day, he’ll haul as much as 100 pounds of coffee from the Lane Avenue roasting operation to coffee shops and groceries.

At the new Hill’s Market Downtown, Williams neatly stacks 12-ounce bags of Backroom coffees in a display case that, fittingly, has handlebars.

Many Hill’s customers ride bikes and find value in learning about green deliveries, said assistant manager Kelly Holmes. “When they see our vendors riding their bikes, they really like that.”

Sarah Bryant does marketing and desk work for Pattycake Bakery, her Clintonville employer. Her passion, however, is cycling.

Her father recently made a trailer trimmed in pink and bearing the company name. She uses it to tackle deliveries in all types of weather.

She was undaunted during a March snow squall on Upper Arlington streets. Wrapped in layers, including a colorful scarf, Bryant was focused, only her eyes visible.

After leaving boxes of just-baked vegan cupcakes, cookies and muffins at the Giant Eagle Market District at Kingsdale Shopping Center, Bryant, 31, was cold and tired, but enjoying the endorphin-rich glow that follows strenuous exercise.

Cyclists are often motivated by fitness or environmental reasons, transforming mundane work into exhilaration.

“It’s like getting paid to exercise,” Bryant said. “It’s a nice escape from the real busy-ness of being in the bakery.

“There’s something kind of empowering about being out there, and it’s snowing, and knowing I can get this done. ...

“We’re really trying to be environmentally friendly. We want to be as green as possible. Being vegan itself is being green.”

C.S. Courier also has expanded the bike’s traditional role. Its riders deliver large food orders from Au Bon Pain Downtown and haul away the bakery’s recyclables.

“We use the trailer also for larger courier jobs that people usually mistake for ‘car’ deliveries,” said owner Ian Dowden.

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